Imperial Brands on Tuesday reported a sharp fall in full-year profits as it took a £463m hit from its exit from Russia.
The maker of Gauloises cigarettes said operating profit for the year to September 30 fell 14.7% to £2.68bn as revenues slipped 0.7% £32.5bn on currency volatility .
Tobacco revenues rose 1.3% to £7.59bn and next generation products such as vapes rose a 10.8% to £208m.
Chief executive Stefan Bomhard said acceleration profit growth next year would be driven by “pricing and operational gearing, improved geographic mix from our priority market focus and cost savings, partially offset by cost inflation and increased next generation product (NGP) investment”.
“Performance will be weighted to the second half of the year due to the phasing of NGP investment, the impact of our exit from Russia in April 2022, and the continued unwind of COVID-19 that will all affect the first half.”
“As a result, the first half adjusted operating profit is expected to be at a similar level to last year, at constant currency.”
Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com
